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Trust in business and relationships-is there really a difference?

She told you to take the garbage out. You said you forgot but you really didn’t, you just didn’t want to take the garbage out. Your prospect asked if there was a renewal clause in your contract. You said you would double check but you didn’t think so, even though you are pretty sure there is.

But no one got hurt right? The garbage got taken out later and the auto renewal never came up because they became a happy customer and are still with you all of these years later. White lies right? That’s what we are told. The end justifies the means.

This seems like an accepted practice in life and in business. Often, it is done under the guise of protecting someone from hurt or more admirably from themselves.

I have lied for sure but I have come to realize that this just never works. You are always looking for a way out. Stressed when that white lie will come back to haunt you. Even if it never does, is the stress worth it? They say the truth will set you free. I think this was always about making you feel better. But it’s really a lifestyle choice. That includes how you run your business.

The concept of outsourcing has always been about trust. Entire industries took years to develop simply because of this. It didn’t matter if you necessarily had a better business model. The question was how long have you done this and who did it before me. Prospects ask for references, the oldest part of the sales cycle there is. Sometimes they don’t check at all and just want to see how willing you are to give them. Sometimes they check them and ask questions to your customers not designed to see if the service really worked (I mean what idiot would give someone a bad reference?). But what does the person on the other end sound like? Are they a passionate net promoter? Was there a pause or hesitancy in their voice when you asked specifics? It’s funny how we call it “trust your gut” when it has nothing to do with any imaginary gut. We are all always watching everything and observing. We are all making decisions even right now on trusting and not trusting and whether this author is full of shit.

Run your business like you run your life. If you run your life based on trust and based on real relationships with people that matter to you, I can’t imagine you wouldn’t be happy.